Accidents happen
by Batduck
Summary: Accidents happen all the time. Even to demons. What happens when Crowley gets hurt? What can injure a demon and how does Aziraphale react? A series of short stories focusing on different ways to hurt a demon. Friendship or slash depending on your mind.
1. Cold

**Accidents happen**

So! This is a project I have thought about doing for a long time, and I finally decided to try it out. I will upload a chapter every week for as long as I feel like it to improve my writing. The stories will all circle around the different ways in which a demon (Crowley) can get hurt, or affected. Sorry about the grim focus of the works, I love him and I love hurting him. But! I would love to get reviews so that I can improve and I would also appreciate suggestions for future chapters. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Good Omens or any of the characters, only the story.

**Cold**

He didn't like the winter. That was why he usually spent it sleeping in a warm bed. Reptilians weren't too good at regulating their body temperature, but what with being a demon and all, the only temperature he really had a problem with was minus. He hated the cold. He HATED the cold. This was what Crowley repeated to himself over and over as he followed Aziraphale through the snow. Why had he agreed on joining the angel on this stupid hike?

"Azzziraphale, w...where is it..t...t?" He asked between clattering teeth.

"Crowley, you are hissing again dear." The angel said as he turned to face the demon with an apologetic look, he knew Crowley didn't like the cold.

"Not...t my fault. It...t's the co..cold." The demon answered grudgingly, still wanting an answer. Aziraphale sighted.

"Not much further, it´s just over the hill." That answer was rewarded with a snort of contempt from the demon. "Just over the hill" he thought, it's a bloody mile or more. But he kept on walking, no chance in hell...heav... no chance at all that he was going to let himself look weak in front of the angel.

"You know, you didn't have to come with me, you could have said no." Aziraphale added after feeling suddenly guilty at the pained expression on the others face. Again, the only answer he got was a grunt, and despite himself he felt a little irritated at his travel companion.

"If you are going to sulk the whole way, why did you even bother to come along?" The demon turned his face towards him, his sunglasses glinting in the light.

"You k..know t..that...t I didn't ha...have a choicccc...ce." He managed to stutter.

"Yeah, I guess so." The angel replied solemnly and looked away.

They had set out to find a Christmas tree. Earlier that morning Aziraphale had held a long and pompous speech about the joy of Christmas, and the importance of a tree. Especially since they were supposed to donate it to an orphanage. Eventually Crowley had gotten guilt-tripped enough to follow the angel out in the woods to help him carry the tree back, even if he never would admit it out loud. To Aziraphale he had said that he simply couldn't let the angel bring the children a beautiful tree without at least trying to influence him in choosing one that was rotten. At this excuse the angel had simply chuckled softly and accepted the help coming from the reluctant demon. Now, out in the snow, he began to regret talking the other into this.

"You know, you could just wish the cold away." Aziraphale turned back to Crowley, whose lips were turning blue.

"I am...m." Was the short, and a little ashamed, answer.

"Oh." Was the hesitant reply from the angel. "_Well, that is a bit worrying_" he thought. After a little more of slow walking in the deep snow Aziraphale stopped once again.

"W...what i..isssss it an...angel?" Crowley asked with clear annoyance in his voice.

"Here." The other stated simply, holding out his jacket. When he saw the reluctance in the other's eyes he smiled reassuringly and stepped over to drape the jacket over the demons shoulders.

"It's okay, I'm not freezing."

"I we...weren't worr...ied." Crowley lied weakly and looked away, nodding ever so slightly as thanks for the extra warmth.

"Of course not, dear." The angel chuckled and started walking again.

"There they are!" Aziraphale exclaimed in delight at the sight of the trees.

"Just a few hundred metres and we are there." He continued happily, forgetting about the sulking demon a few steps behind him.

"Fi...finally." Came the stuttering reply. The fact that Crowley were still stuttering despite the extra jacket made Aziraphale turn around in worry. Sensing the angel's distress the demon put on a brave face and straightened up into an unworried walk. As the angel faced him he smiled innocently and couldn't keep himself from feeling a bit of pride at the confused furrow between the others brows. He could trick the other if he wanted to.

"W...what are you waiting for angel?" He forced the words out without clattering his teeth more than once and hurried past the angel to hide his contorted features. He could keep it up, he could make it. It was just a little snow.

"Ssssso which tree ssshould we cccchosssse to kill?" The demon hissed, unable to control his voice completely when he tried not to stutter. The angel, politely ignoring the excessive hissing replied rather calmly:

"You do not have to say it like that. We are giving the kids a happier Christmas so we will look for the most beautiful tree." The angel said with disapproval which quickly changed into barely contained excitement.

"I am sure that they are going to be so happy!"

"If t..they g...get so...so happy by gett...ting a de...dead tree, t..then I feel alm...mosssst pleasssed." Crowley managed through teeth which refused to stay under his control any longer.

"Crowley dear, are you sure you are okay? I know you can't handle cold to well." Aziraphale laid a hand on the demons arm to hinder him from ignoring the question.

"I'm...m fi...fine." Crowley shrugged the hand of but Aziraphale wasn't fooled. The previously blue-tinted lips of his friend were now deep blue and contrasting strongly against his skin, which was even whiter than usual.

"Your tricks don't work on me, so stop trying. We should go back." Aziraphale said and for a moment Crowley felt thankful, until he saw the disappointed face on the other. Crap.

"No, n...no! We a..are here...re now, let..ts kill a tre...rea!" Crowley said with mock joy and Aziraphale looked at him with a grateful, yet worrying, little smile. Crowley did not feel warmer at seeing that smile, not at all. He was good at lying to himself.

"Right! But let's hurry then, dear." Aziraphale took off through the trees at an impressing speed, towards the biggest and most dense spruces.

"R..right..." Mumbled Crowley and hurried after, slipping and skidding in the snow.

"This one is perfect!" Aziraphale exclaimed and turned towards Crowley in his excitement, only to see the demon stumbling on a pile of snow and falling face first in the deep snow with a muffled scream. The angel's first reaction was to laugh, but as he heard his own merriment he recoiled in horror. What kind of angel would laugh at somebody who just fell? Instead he hurried towards his fallen comrade, who still hadn't gotten up.

"Crowley, dear, are you alright?" He got a small groan as a response and the body on the ground started moving. As Aziraphale reached down to help the other up he noted for the first time how weak the others demonic powers felt and he mentally berated himself for not noticing. As he hauled the other up he couldn't help but flinch at the half-unconscious look the other man had on his face.

"Crowley, we should really get you back to the car."

"I'm fine." Came the barely inaudible reply.

"Don't give me that shit. You. Are. Not. Fine. Let's go!" At this the demon looked up in surprise, did Aziraphale just curse? When he saw the deeply distressed angel he suddenly didn't feel as surprised anymore and he couldn't bring himself to talk back. He grunted in agreement and started shuffling at the opposite direction all the while feeling the angels stare at his back. Aziraphale looked on in silent surprise as the demon actually complied with his suggestion. Or maybe demand was a better choice of words he thought embarrassingly, promising himself not to curse again.

"Crowley, let me help you." The angel said in a concerning tone as he started after the other, not liking the sluggish way the demon moved in. Crowley turned around to answer that "I can take care of myself, thank you very much" but as he turned to face the angel he felt his knees starting to buckle and the edges of his vision going black. Shit.

Aziraphale stared in horror as Crowley's eyes rolled back into his head and the demon crumpled to the ground in a heap. This was not good.

"Crowley!"


	2. Cold 2

**Cold 2**

"Crowley!" Aziraphale yelled as he hurried over to his fallen friend.

"Are you alright? Answer me!" He tried telling himself that it was impossible for the other to die, they were immortal after all, but it did nothing to ease his worry. He threw himself down on the ground next to the demon and turned him over so that his face was facing up. At the sight that met him he drew a chocked breath, the other looked completely frozen with blue lips, white face and to the angels horror; no visible breath. He hurriedly slapped the demons face while praying to a god he wasn't at all sure approved of his friends line of work.

"Crowley! You better wake up! I swear to God I will make you wake up, don't mess around! Come on!" He felt the panic rise in his chest as the man on the ground remained unconscious and un-breathing. He took a couple of calming breaths, he needed to think clearly. The demon didn't need to breathe, so it wasn't any real danger. The others body must have prioritised keeping warm instead of getting oxygen. But, he would prefer the other awake so that he could move him easier. Even if the demon wouldn't die from cold, he could get severely weakened, even more so than he already had. Chances were that Crowley would get discorporated, and Aziraphale had to admit that he had gotten quite fond of the others current appearance. The angel took another unnecessary breath and bent down towards the other and blew the air into the others mouth while pinching his nose, hoping that the other would wake up after he had pulled away.

"Uuuuh. What?" Came a mumbling voice, slurred by the others mouth against his.

Awkward.

The angel pulled away quickly, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks and all the way to his ears. He cleared his throat and looked away from the others confused and slightly horrified gaze.

"I'm glad you are awake. You got me worried." He said casually, ignoring the almost stinging heat covering his whole face.

"Huh. Ssssorry, I guesssss." Came the groggy reply.

"No harm done. You feel good enough for a walk? There is a bit left before we reach the car and I don't really feel like carrying you all the way." The angel said, getting up from his now soaked knees.

"Yeah, of...of coursssse." Crowley pushed his upper body up by the arms and started working his way, slowly, into a standing position. As he stood upright he swayed dangerously but tried to act casual, not wanting the angel to worry.

"Ssssso, ssssorry ab...about that...at. D...don't know wh...what got into...to me." He said, frowning as he noticed his teeth clattering once more. Biting down hard to hinder them from betraying any weakness he started walking slowly forward again.

"You know very well what happened." The angel said disapprovingly.

"I know you can't handle the cold very well and still you went on this trip. You really are stupid sometimes." But there were no real venom in his voice. He knew Crowley had come here because he had asked him to and even if he felt bad for the situation he had gotten the demon into, he couldn't get rid of the feeling of... joy? He actually did feel a bit happy at the fact that the demon had followed him out into the cold.

"Y...yeah, you..you k...know me." Crowley grinned manically as he ploughed through the snow.

"Sadly enough I do..." The angel replied mockingly as he caught up with the demon. He took the others arm and swung it over his shoulder, taking some of the others weight.

"H...hey! I do..don't need..d your hel...lp." The other objected while at the same time leaning in on the angel, letting the other take most of his weight.

"I know, I know."

After walking for nearly half an hour Aziraphale almost tripped.

"Sorry for that. We have to look out were we put our feet, eh?" Crowley had stopped answering a while ago, presumably to save his energy, but the angel talked on to keep his spirits up. Immortal strength or not, Aziraphale felt himself tire under the weight of the demon.

"I'm sorry to ask this, but do you think you could turn into something smaller? You know, easier for me to carry." The angel asked a bit shamefully. Even if size were something indefinite for the two of them, they still preferred their human forms and Aziraphale felt a bit rude to ask the other to abandon his. When he didn't get an answer he looked over at the other to find that he had passed out again and that he was literally dragging the other through the snow. Aziraphale felt the knot of worry in his stomach grow.

"Crowley! Come on you old serpent!" He shook his shoulder to wake the demon, which only resulted in the others head to loll loosely back and forth. Damn. Well this deserved another curse. And a good one, the angel thought grimly as he started reciting from the bible. After a couple of verses Aziraphale sighted in relief and stopped as Crowley spluttered and started coughing. Feeling relief but still a bit guilty at the trail of blood trickling from the demons lips the angel shook the other again, now rewarded with a blurry glare and a grunt of disapproval. He knew it was a low blow to recite holy texts, but it gave a reaction and right now that was all that mattered.

"Hey there. So sorry about that, but you have to blame yourself, you shouldn't keep passing out."Aziraphale lightly scolded the other who just looked at him with unfocused eyes, which made the angel feel slightly uncomfortable.

"So, as I was saying, you think you can turn into something a bit smaller. You know, to make this whole carrying you thing a bit easier?" The other made a face of concentration and then slumped miserably, shaking his head.

"No..not eno...ough po...we...wer." The statement was barely above a whisper and full of shameful admission.

"It's alright dear. It will work out. You will be alright, just hang in there." The angel tried to reassure the other while he himself felt the panic rise once more. The other had barely any power left, and that meant that he would get increasingly affected by the cold. He had to hurry.


	3. Cold 3

**Cold 3**

Aziraphale once again laid his friends arm over his shoulders and started half-dragging him towards the car, it wasn't far left, they could actually see the car in the distance. Or at least Aziraphale could, the angel suspected that Crowley had passed out again with the way his feet were dragging in the snow.

"Come on now you condemned angel, don't make me do all the work!" Aziraphale growled at his limp company, using one of the worst nicknames you could on a demon.

"I…I´m… no… a….ang… el." Came the barely audible reply.  
"And praise the lord for that." Aziraphale mumbled to himself and felt relief spread in his stomach. Crowley was at least awake.

"So, when we are on the subject; at which point in the _Falling_ do you think an angel transforms into a demon? Is it when the being leaves heaven? Or when it enters hell? I have been pondering this several times without getting a real answer. I guess you need some inside information, so to say. I haven´t really gotten around to ask you have I? No of course not, I can´t imagine it being a pleasant subject to talk about for you." Aziraphale rambled on, not expecting an answer and not getting one. The talking was more a method of distracting himself of how long the hill down to the car was.

"That distance will take some time to walk, don´t you think? Especially while dragging a demon with me... If only we had something to travel on. Like a sleigh." Aziraphale stopped dead in his tracks. A sleigh. Why hadn´t he thought of that before? With a slight concentration a sleigh appeared on the ground, the angel sighted in relief. Sometimes it was easy to forget that he wasn´t an ordinary human, they had a way of inflicting their ways on you. He carefully lowered the demon down onto the sleigh and sat himself behind him, holding tight at Crowley´s waist to keep him in place. The demon slumped back against Aziraphale´s chest and the angel had to rearrange the other´s legs so that they were of the ground.

"Okay, are you ready?" Aziraphale gave a humph when he didn´t get a reply but settled for trying to keep Crowley upright as he kicked the sleight into motion.

As the pair went down the hill Aziraphale could swear he heard and felt a hiss come from the other. Despite the seriousness in the situation the angel could not keep in a smile of joy from forming on his lips at the thrill of going down the hill this fast and with his friend with him. Even if he would have wanted the friend to be conscious. The thought erased the smile and a serious expression took its place, this was no time for enjoyment. As soon as the sleight stopped in front of the car Aziraphale got up and hoisted the other to his feet.

"W…what?" A blurry, confused, voice asked while looking around.

"We are at the car, I took a shortcut." Aziraphale replied proudly. Crowley responded with a huff. Aziraphale shook his head and opened the passenger door, fumbling with the other to get him in the seat. You do not realize how hard it is to fit another person in a seat whitout their help until you try it. An intense look of concentration set itself on Aziraphale´s face as he finally managed to maneuver Crowley into a sitting position inside the car. The angel breathed out in relief. Finally. He walked around the car and sat down in the driver seat. A low groan from the demon made Aziraphale hurry with starting the car and putting on the air condition, turning it to the warmest setting. He turned to his passenger.

"How are you feeling?" He asked hesitantly.  
"Mmmhh." Came a dazed reply as Crowley slowly lifted his shaking hands to put them closer to the heat.

"You know what, as soon as you can manage, turn into something smaller. You will warm up faster that way." Aziraphale said with a smile.

That was the story of how an angel drove home in an overheated car with a demon in the shape of a snake sleeping contently on his lap.


	4. Holy Bibel

**Holy Bible**

He was so proud of this edition. It was like no other in his collection. This one was holy, literally speaking. On his most recent visit to heaven, or kidnapping depending on how you choose to look on it, he was granted this most generous gift as thanks for stopping Armageddon. Heaven had to keep up appearance after all. In all honesty Aziraphale did not care much about the motive, he cared about the blessed first edition bible in his hands. He suddenly realized that the feeling in his chest must be some kind of greed, and most definitely pride, but he was too excited to really pay much attention to it. He was in the middle of thumbing through the pages once more when he suddenly stopped. He had totally forgotten about a meeting with a certain demon that very day. Aziraphale sighted as he closed his newest treasure and made to put it on his desk, then stopped. He hesitated with the book an inch above the surface of the desk for a couple of seconds and then decided to keep it, he would surely have the time to read it through once more during the day. The angel smiled as he made his way out of his shop and then began the walk to a certain park.

When he approached the bench near the pond he noticed with no real maount of surprise that it was empty. It seemed that no matter how late he arrived, and mind you that wasn't often, the demon took pride in coming even later. Aziraphale just rolled his eyes slightly and sat down facing the quacking ducks, it was in the others nature he guessed. He glanced at the book in his hand and was just about to open it when he heard elaborate slow footsteps on the gravel behind him. He turned were he sat with a broad smile and directed the oncoming figure.

"Hello, old friend. Long time no see."

"We saw each other last week." Crowley replied with a grin on his face. Then the demon wrinkled his nose and a frown crept over his face.

"You stink." He stated bluntly. With a half startled, half offended, expression the angel descreetly sniffed under his arm.

"I do not! Angels don't smell. At least not badly." He stared at the demon with resignation all over his face and with cheeks turning redder by the second.

"I don't mean in that way stupid! I mean more hol…" Crowley stopped short and started coughing. Aziraphale´s stare turned to a look full of concern as he took in the other man´s obvious discomfort and rapidly paling skin.

"Crowley?" The angel asked tentatively as he got up from the bench.

"What´s the matter?" But Crowley didn't answer, he just doubled over and coughed even harder. The angel hastily walked around the bench and took a couple of steps towards the other. At the same time a spasm ripped through the demon´s body, quickly followed by a spurt of black thick liquid from his mouth. Aziraphale unconsciously shied away and almost growled.

"Demon blood!" But as Crowley´s fit didn't pass he pushed down his instincts and once more approached the demon. But as he took another step towards his friend the other suddenly raised his head and searched him shakily with his eyes until they locked onto the newly blessed bible in the angel´s hand. Crowley gave a hiss that sounded disturbingly much like a dying animal.

"Are… Y.. You… Fuck… ing… kid…d…ding…me?" He managed in between coughs and Aziraphale froze. How could he have forgotten about the book? The bible. The newly blessed bible. The bible newly blessed by God himself. He took a couple of quick steps back as he inwardly barraged himself. This had been a part of the Agreement. They had promised to never bring a subject or a person that could hurt the other by its immortal powers. Now he had done exactly that. He threw the book over the grass, as far away from the struggling demon as possible, suddenly not caring as much about the book as he had done only minutes before. He once again approached his friend with his hands raised and palms visible.

"No book. I´m sorry old friend, I´m so sorry." Crowley stared at him blankly while still coughing and with a thick trickle of blood running down his chin from his mouth. But when the angel was at arms length Crowley shrunk back and focused his eyes on the other, once again scanning for the holy book.

"It´s okay! I threw it away. It wasn't my intention to hurt you and for that I´m sorry. You know I didn't do it on purpose, right?" A small amount of insecurity and hurt crept into his voice. Aziraphale reached out an arm to put his hand on Crowley´s shoulder, but the other didn't seem to hear him and staggered back a few steps while clutching at his stomach. Aziraphale frowned harder.

"Crowley? The book is gone." He once again started towards the other but at that moment the demons legs decided to give in and he fell to the ground with a muffled groan.

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I would love som reviews!


	5. Holy Bible 2

**Holy Bible 2**

Aziraphale rushed towards the fallen demon.  
"Crowley!? What happened? Are you okay?" He shook his friend´s shoulders but got no response.  
He didn´t know what to do or what he needed to do to help the other. All he knew was that they were still in the middle of a park and a small crowd had started gathering. And his friend lay unconscious on the ground. Because of him.  
"I need to get us out of here." He talked to himself know, praying for the other to answer, but he lay still on the ground with labored breathing showing no sign of waking up anytime soon. Aziraphale quickly glanced around and with a thought everyone started with their own business again, forgetting about the pair on the ground. A small sight of relief and a quick gathering of an armful of demon later Aziraphale was on his way to his bookshop.

"Crowley can you hear me?" He looked down at the demon in his arms and felt a new pang of guilt at the sight of blood trickling down the others face from his mouth. How could he have been so irresponsible? No matter how hard he berated himself it didn´t change anything. He had to get Crowley to safety inside his bookshop. Where all the holy books were sealed. He sighted again. He could have avoided all of this, but he just had to bring the new book. A feeling of regret rose in his chest at the thought of the book lying abandoned in the grass. The first edition.  
"Oh, God. Such a waste." He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on his friends in his arms. He seemed to be able to breathe well enough but the blood from his mouth was to say the least worrying.

Reaching the shop faster than should be possible he kicked the door in which suddenly wasn´t locked and entered the shop when the demon in his arms started twitching.  
"Crowley?" he hesitated when he glanced down just in time to see the others arms started to flail. He was seizing. As he looked the body in his arms started convulsing and guttural grunting noises came from the mouth, which was still leaking blood.  
"Shit!" The angel barely registered the swearword as he put the demon down and held him still. Trying to keep his friend from harming himself any further. As Crowley arched of the floor and a splutter of blood was forced from his mouth a sudden realization hit the angel trying to hold him down. The blood from his mouth, it was surely suffocating the other. Quickly he laid the other in a recovery position and tipped his head to help him clear his mouth. The demon stilled. With rising panic the angel felt for a breath and found none.  
"No! No, no, no, no! Come on Crowley! Don´t give up now! Fight!" At the last word Aziraphale pushed a hand hard on the others chest, trying to get him to breath. With a cough sounding like an attempt to hack up all of the innards belonging to the person on the floor the demon came to life again. Wet hacking filled the small shop as Crowley fought to get rid of the blood clogging his throat. A small shower of blood exited the struggling demon´s mouth and a spatter landed on the worrying angel's hand. With a hiss and a quick jerk of said hand Aziraphale was at the other side of the room quickly wiping the corroding substance off on the wall. As he composed himself and frowned down on his burned hand he raised his head at the sound of a groan. Crowley was slowly trying to sit up as he still emitted small coughs.  
"Oh thank God." Aziraphale sat down againt the wall and absentmindedly rubbed at his hand.  
"Whaa?" He glanced around until his eyes landed on Aziraphale still on the other side of the room.  
"Oh hey." The demon lifted his hand a bit and gave a small lazy wave.  
"Hey there. How are you feeling?" Aziraphale hid his hand behind his back and walked towards the other with a smile.  
"Awful." There was a frown on Crowley´s face. "What happened?" Aziraphale felt guilt build up again and quickly glanced away while crouching in front of the demon and pushing him down again.  
"Lay down, you should rest." The demon shot him an annoyed look but within a couple of seconds he fell into an exhausted sleep.

Relief welled up and blossomed in Aziraphale´s stomach, Crowley would be fine. He decided to put him in the couch in the bookshop and prepare a cup of tea for when he woke up, and a good excuse.

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I would love some encouraging reviews! I hope you enjoy it even if it´s a bit horrible. Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot!


	6. Holy land

**Holy land**

Crowley hated Italy. This was a fact he wouldn´t admit to anyone, especially not a certain angel. Actually Crowley loved the food in Italy, the old houses, the landscape, the climate and the people. Or he loved the people to a certain degree. That was also the problem. People in Italy were generally so very religious. Just the religion itself wasn´t that bad, it was all the dam… hol… countless churches. They were everywhere. Even so, he had to admit that they were beautiful, although that was another fact that he would only barely admit to himself and never say out loud. It was because the people in Italy loved their churches and God so dearly that Crowley always was in a hurry to get out of the country. The demon always felt sick when he stayed for too long and he had concluded that it was the churches fault, all the holiness put together was just too much.

This certain visit to the God-loving country was caused by a request by a specific angel called Aziraphale. This was also an angel which he could not refuse. As a result Crowley found himself submerged in a pile of books in a library located in central Rome. He was currently searching for information on how to disguise an antique book as a new one without harming it in any way.

Crowley sighted as he felt his stomach clench again and rubbed at his aching temples as he scanned another page for this dam..bles.. stupid bit of information. Why did he do this? Because the angel had asked, damn him again, and he had looked real pleading when he did. No-one could withstand an angel with puppy-eyes, not even a demon. But that didn´t stop said demon from complaining.

"This is ridiculous, and you know it!"

"Take it easy dear, it can´t be much left." Came the calm response.

"Of course it can´t! We have almost looked through every book in this library!" at this Crowley gestured at the large pile of books on the table in front of them.

"It´s for a good cause, bear with it a little longer." The angel looked pleading enough as he said the last sentence as to make the demons anger falter.

"It´s a waste of time, that´s what it is." Crowley mumbled as he went back to flipping pages and concentrating more on the increasing ache in his stomach than on the book in his hands. He furrowed his brows as he felt an increasing, unpleasant, tingling in his hands. "_Well this is a new ache for being in Italy_" he thought as he tentatively flexed his fingers discreetly only earning a slightly confused look from his companion. He had already been in the country for one week and this was the limit he tried not to cross. Soon he wouldn´t be able to hide his discomfort from his friend and that´s when the pain in the ass would start, which was much worse. He smirked at his own cleverness while he flipped another page, but as he gave a light chuckle he immediately stilled as a wave of pain shot through his stomach. To his great embarrassment he wasn´t able to completely hold in the grunt of pain that followed. Aziraphale looked up quizzically.

"Is everything alright?" At this Crowley looked up innocently.

"Hm? Of course it is." But knowing that he couldn´t fool the angel completely he quickly added

"I just ate something funny for lunch. It must have been a bit bad" Aziraphale´s face changed into skepticism and a hint of disgust which made Crowley wonder what the angel thought he had eaten. Crowley let a smirk crawl over his face to encourage those thoughts, better that then the truth.

"Do you want to know what it was?" The demon drawled out as he saw the humor in the others eyes.

"I do hope it wasn´t a newly baptized baby!" Aziraphale exclaimed in horror as Crowley feigned surprise and offense.

"But of course it was my feathery friend! You know I always eat them at mid-day!" At this they both snickered, the angel a bit more guiltily than the demon. The laughter brought with it another wave of pain, this time in his head, and he could feel his face go pale. The laughter died on the angel´s lips and Crowley cursed to himself. He almost had the angel distracted.

"Oh dear. You look pale, paler than usual that is." Now Aziraphale had a look of worry on his face and looked down at the demon´s hands, still clutching a book, and his face softened in understanding.

"Maybe that wasn´t the best choice for you." The angel almost laughed and Crowley looked down to see what was so damn funny with him feeling ill when… Oh. The book in his hands had been written by a priest of high status. Well, that had been unobservant of him. He immediately dropped the book and stared daggers at the angel, daring him to continue smiling.

"Don´t be like that! It was pretty funny." The angel said in-between chuckles and then silently added

"And much better then joking about eating babies."

"Hilarious." The demon agreed coldly while standing, ignoring the twist of his stomach. He was secretly glad that he got an excuse to leave, even if it had to be a slightly humiliating one.

"I´m going home. Good luck with the search." With that Crowley turned and left, still with the angels laugh ringing in his ears.


	7. Holy air

**Holy air**

"Remind me again why we are going on this stupid hike." The exaggerated demand was spat out from between thin lips and pointed teeth, reaching its goal and making it smile patiently.  
"Because we are going to admire the view from the top." Came the calm reply formed by smoothly curved lips and a soft face.  
"Do I have to remind you of just how many mountains we have seen? What is so special with this one?" Aziraphale settled for shaking his head instead of answering and continued walking, knowing that no matter what he said it would not satisfy the demon walking grumpily behind him.  
"Why can we not fly up? That would go so much faster and we would not have to…" Aziraphale smoothly cut him of, somehow making it seem as if Crowley had been the one interrupting him.  
"You know very well that both heaven and hell are keeping their eyes on us after the whole… incident with the world not ending."  
"Of course I know, but they do have more important things to do. So we should…" Once again the demon was cut short, but this time his mouth shut and he searched the landscape with an intense glare, searching for the source of the sudden Queens music. The song "_Now I'm here" c_reating a feeling of being observed which made Crowley hunch his shoulders. Giving Crowley a smug look the angel added:  
"And besides, you could use the exercise." At this Crowley directed his glare at Aziraphale which was cold enough to make a nearby lizard go into early hibernation.  
"We both know who has been getting even puffier around the waist since the assignments from our higher-ups stopped coming." The angel´s cheeks turned pink as he stared straight ahead.  
"A bit of fat is healthy." He mumbled under his breath and Crowley couldn't contain his laughter which echoed across the valley.  
"I do not see what is so funny. And besides, you do not seem to be in the best shape yourself." Aziraphale grumbled, noticing Crowley´s rather heavy breathing. The demon put on a joking smile.*  
"Spending two months changing the school system making sure all the tall students get the bottom lockers do that to you."  
"Oh, is that were you have been? I thought you were ignoring me after I prevented your delayed flight plan in Germany." Crowley´s smile faded at this.  
"That would have been… so much fun." The demon frowned, having to pause in the middle for a breath. Aziraphale furrowed his brows and continued the discussion with another shake of his head.  
"The poor passengers! They would have been stuck at the airport forever." He said with exasperated concern and horror watching in familiar joy when a playful smirk crept over his friends face.  
"But of course… my dear angel! That was… the whole idea!" At this the angel burst out laughing. They had been repeating versions of this conversation too many times for it to be taken for anything other than a joke. Aziraphale had expected Crowley to join in the laugh as always, so it took him some time before he realized that the other simply walked on, breathing harder than ever and with furrowed brows. Sweat had gathered at the demons hairline and Aziraphale could see the other´s eyes glowing even behind the sunglasses. The angel stopped walking.  
"Are you okay dear?" Concern almost too strong, making the demon shudder.  
"Yeah… I´m…. fine." He grunted out in response.  
"Just…a bit… out… of shape." Crowley could see the disapproval spread across the angel´s face and cursed.  
"Crowley." The voice held a warning.  
"I know, just as well as you do, that neither angels nor demons gets what you call "out of shape"." Aziraphale said as he approached the other who looked up sharply. The angel put on a small smile.  
"Just let me help you. What is wrong?" Crowley were tempted, so, so, tempted to tell him. Tell him that it felt as if his lungs had shrunken, that his throat had almost shut in on itself and that oxygen felt like a dream. But he could not tell him, he was too proud. Damn him.  
"I´m fine!" He hissed at the approaching angel and swatted his outstretched hand away.  
"I am… just…fine." He started walking again and his friend hesitantly followed. A heavy silence fell until Crowley broke it. He scrunched up his nose and gave an involuntary hiss.  
"Do…. You… smell that?" Aziraphale looked at him in wonder and sniffed the air. He looked confused until a frown spread across his face.  
"That smells wrong. Something is burning." He hurried up the hill, towards the nearby top and was followed by a wheezing demon.

When they reached the top and looked down the other side they were met by a wave of heat and the sight of a burning old church. Aziraphale paled in horror and was about to go closer and manifest some rain to get the horrible fire to die out. Just as he took a step towards the blazing old building he noticed Crowley staring with empty eyes straight ahead and swaying slightly from side to side. The angel stopped.  
"Crowley?" He took the other entity´s shoulder and shook it lightly. He couldn´t avoid noticing that Crowley´s breathing sounded alarmingly much like one of the dogs the demon enjoyed making choke on their pip-squeaks. The similarity made the angel forget about the church for a second.  
"Crowley, what is it?" He got the answer when a puff of wind made its way up the side of the mountain from the church, bringing with it the smoke and smell. The effect was immediate. Crowley´s mouth gaped like a fish´s and his eyes filled with panic as he brought his hand up and started clawing at his throat. Now he stared right at the stunned angel.  
"Ai…..rrrrrrrr." The demon managed and confirmed what Aziraphale had already suspected. The air was filled with poison for a demon; Crowley simply could not breath it. Aziraphale felt the panic rising.  
"Oh hel…heav… no." He looked back the way they had come but the smoke had already spread there, making it an impossible choice right now. He looked at the church again, feeling an overwhelming need to put the fire out, to stop it from destroying his father´s house. He was almost about to call forth a small storm when he was brought back to reality by his friend tipping over his side and falling to the ground with a thud. The angel stood frozen for a second, stunned and ashamed that he had ignored the obvious panic and plea for help in his friend´s eyes. He rushed to the other´s side and placed a hand over his mouth. No breathing. The mouth was still opening and closing, searching for breathable air, and the eyes were still staring straight at him, begging for help. Aziraphale swallowed his guilt and felt it burn his eyes.  
"It is going to be okay Crowley. Just relax." He pried the demon´s hands away from the throat they had been trying to open and the angel flinched at the deep gashes the long fingers had made. When Crowley´s hand lightly squeezed his he felt relief wash through him.  
"Yes, I´m here. I will help you." Aziraphale looked in concern at his friend when the hand got slack and fell to the ground. With an unexplained sense of grief he checked the others pulse. The demons heart was not beating. This time the angel actually cursed as he picked the demon up bridal style and concentrated a moment until he heard his clothes rip and felt the overpowering sense of relief that came with spreading your wings for the first time in a long time. He quickly looked down at the body in his arms and wished that Crowley´s eyes were not staring at him so accusingly. He cursed again as said eyes shut at his wish; he was not supposed to be able to control a demon with wishing. Nonetheless he found himself sending a prayer to heaven, to hell, to anyone who would listen, that his friend would wake up, all the while he soared higher and higher over the mountain.

When he had cleared out of the smoke he willed the body´s chest to move, forcing air down it´s lungs while he in his mind searched for his friends presence and called it back with all his power. The excursion made him grit his teeth and a floating thought made its way to the front of his mind. "What if the higher-ups were to see him now? Showing of his wings in broad daylight, flying and trying to resurrect a demon while a church kept on burning far below". The thought did not even make him falter. It did not matter. He knew he would continue until he felt a breath. He would continue until he felt a heartbeat. He would continue until he felt a movement. He would continue until… he felt hands slapping his face. That worked to. Startled the angel glanced around and then down at the person occupying his arms.  
"Aziraphale stop! I´m here already! Hallo?" The familiar annoyed voice greeted him when he once again focused on the now living body in his arms. The angel hiccupped, noticed that he was crying and clutching the other too tightly to his chest. In an instant his cheeks went red and he looked apologetically at the demon in his arms. "Oh, Crowley." He said joyfully as he allowed a smile to take over his face.  
"You are back."  
"Well, you know how it is. The bureaucracy downstairs is a real pain in the ass and it would have taken me ages to get a new body. I thought I would save everyone's time and just skip it this time." The demon said with a smile, replacing his earlier look of concern following the angel´s strange behavior when he had woken up.  
"Good choice. I was afraid that you would miss our trip to the Galapagos Islands!" The angel tried to put on a fake look of horror but did not manage to suppress the beaming smile on his face. Crowley looked up at him with innocent eyes and a smile still on his lips.  
"Is that why you cried?" The question made the angel splutter.  
"I didn´t…!"  
"Isn´t lying a sin?"  
"I would never.."  
"Of course you didn´t. Now, can you please let go of me. I´m starting to get a little uncomfortable playing your bride here." The demon said while his smile turned to a taunting smirk, which made the angels face turn red and just as he was about to answer he was stopped by the booming laughter of his friend. And he could not help but to smile.

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Thank you so much for reading! It means a lot to me.

Please rate and review! I would love to hear what you think. And I would love to get some ideas for future chapters.


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